Ilona Szilágyi

Princess Consort Ilona Szilágyi of Wallachia, was the second wife of Vlad III the Impaler and the cousin of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary.

In 1462, Vlad Voivode of Wallachia, had been imprisoned by his former ally, Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary. He gradually won back the king's favour and married the king's cousin, Ilona. She was the daughter of Michael Szilágyi, whom was regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, Voivode of Transylvania, Vlad's ally, and a maternal uncle of the king.^[3]

Following Vlad's release around 1466, he lived with Ilona in a house in the Hungarian capital, gifted to them by the King for their marriage.^[4][5]

Ilona bore him two sons in 1465: the elder, Vlad IV Dracula, spent most of his time in the king's retinue and later was an unsuccessful claimant to the Wallachian throne. The younger, whose name was Mircea, lived with the Bishop of Oradea (Nagyvárad) in Transylvania until 1482, when he fell ill. He returned to Buda, where he died in his mother's presence.^[6]

The descendants of Vlad and Ilona married into the Hungarian nobility.

Szilágyi Coat Of Arms

References